Usage Limits
Last Updated: September 3, 2026
This page explains how free hiring-manager lookups are limited and how we prevent abuse without permanently blocking shared networks (offices, campuses, mobile CGNAT).
1. Free lookup quota
Each person gets a limited number of free reveals (distinct job lookups that unlock contacts without payment). The limit is counted per person, not per string typed into the email field: common variants of the same mailbox count once.
When the free quota is used up, you can continue with paid credits or a subscription. Paid usage is not limited by the free-reveal rules on this page.
2. Changing email does not reset the free quota
Free quota follows your identity, not just the string you type in the email field. If you try a different email after the free limit is exhausted, we may link those addresses into the same identity for quota purposes when the attempt looks like the same person retrying. That check uses essential first-party signals described in section 3.
Linking is meant to stop email juggling, not to permanently ban an office or ISP address.
3. Cookies
Every cookie we set is strictly necessary: your session, your paid access, and a first-party visitor identifier used for return visits and abuse prevention. There are no analytics or advertising cookies — Google Analytics was removed in September 2026, which is why the site no longer shows a cookie notice.
Blocking or clearing these cookies does not lift the free-lookup limit. It may cost you remembered preferences and parts of the Service that depend on them.
We record first-party product events needed to run and improve the Service: visits, job URL input attempts, lookup starts, validation failures, processing outcomes, previews, contact reveals, email delivery, upgrade prompts, and checkout. These are processed by us for security, diagnostics, usage limits, and aggregate product statistics, and are not sent to any third-party analytics provider.
4. IP addresses
We may store IP addresses with lookups and visits for security, fraud prevention, and diagnostics. For visitors who are not signed in, free reveals are also capped per IP address, so a shared network — office Wi-Fi, a campus, a VPN, a mobile carrier — can reach that cap through other people's use.
Signing in removes the per-network cap: once you have an account, your free reveals are counted against your own address only. If you hit a limit you did not use yourself, sign in with Google and continue.
Separately, we may throttle unusually high search volume from a single network to protect the Service (search throttle), which is different from the free-reveal product quota.
We keep IP addresses on short-lived visit, invalid-input, and search-throttle records only for a limited period, normally 30 days, and then remove them. Raw invalid job URL inputs are normally redacted after 30 days, while the hash and error category may remain temporarily for aggregate diagnostics.
5. What we ask of you
- Use a real email you can access — disposable addresses are blocked.
- Do not try to bypass limits by rotating emails, automation, or identity spoofing.
- See our Terms of Use for prohibited misuse.
6. Related policies
Personal data practices (including cookies and IP) are described in the Privacy Policy. Commercial terms are in the Terms of Use.
Questions: team@dearhiringmanager.io